This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in finding and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource such as oil or natural gas is discovered, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource. Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly mounted on a well through which the resource is accessed or extracted. These wellhead assemblies may include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, valves, hangers, pumps, fluid conduits, and the like, that facilitate drilling or production operations.
Flow meters can be used to measure fluids (e.g., production fluids and injection fluids) passing through conduits at a wellsite. In some instances, operators use ultrasonic flow meters for such measurements. Ultrasonic flow meters include ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and detecting ultrasonic waves in a fluid passed through the meter. The flowing fluid interacts with the ultrasonic waves transmitted through the fluid. This allows the received ultrasonic waves to be used to infer characteristics of the fluid, such as velocity and volumetric flow rate.